The UK intelligence services have concluded that it is possible to reduce the risk of using Huawei equipment in 5G networks. That’s what The Financial Times reports. The United States has been warning allies for some time about equipment from the Chinese manufacturer, because it would be misused by the Chinese government for espionage.
The British National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has determined that there are ways to limit the risks of the equipment in the future networks, according to two people who are familiar with the conclusion. The conclusions of the intelligence services have not yet been published.
Spying
The United States has been sharing information about Chinese manufacturers with its allies for some time now, hoping that it will keep companies like Huawei out of future networks. According to the US, the company’s equipment is being misused by the Chinese government to spy. The NSA shares information with allies to underline those risks.
For example, the US states that 5G is going to be so fast and get so many military applications that the risk is too great to use equipment from Chinese companies. In addition, the Americans argue that Huawei can use rogue software updates to facilitate espionage, even though there is no evidence so far of such activities.
However, several European countries, such as the United Kingdom and Germany, are not convinced that a ban is justified. One insider said that the British conclusion “will weigh heavily” with European leaders, as the United Kingdom has access to sensitive US information through its membership of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network.
Other countries
Australia and New Zealand are also members of Five Eyes, but last year they did impose a ban or blockade on telecom providers to use Huawei equipment in 5G networks. Last year, the British company Vodafone announced that it would at least temporarily stop purchasing equipment from the manufacturer. Huawei has denied all allegations of espionage so far.
This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.